Boardwalk removed on remote lakes track

A 100 metre long boardwalk has been removed from a
walking track in the Parangarahu Lakes area of East Harbour
Regional Park following the winter storms that have hit
Wellington.

The lakes are a hidden gem on the Pencarrow
Coast and owned by the Port Nicholson Settlement Trust
/Taranaki Whanui and jointly managed with Greater Wellington
Regional Council.

The boardwalk crossed the Gollans
Stream wetland, upstream of Lake Kohangatera. It was part of
the Lakes Block Circuit that is popular with mountain bikers
and walkers looking for a more remote experience.

Regional Council Parks Manager Amanda Cox says the
boardwalk was overtopped by floodwaters, which also wedged a
large mat of wetland vegetation against the
boardwalk.

“The flood altered the course of the stream,
from one that flowed benignly under the boardwalk to one
that is constantly pushing a big mat of vegetation up
against it. Because of this the boardwalk and the vegetation
became kind of a living dam.”

Mrs Cox says this storm
and the possibility of more like it in the future mean that
the Regional Council doesn’t plan to reinstate the
boardwalk.

“Many of the predictions we hear are for
more extreme weather events. We know this stream can rise
quickly and we want to minimise the chance of floods as a
result.”

The affected area has recently re-opened now
that the Regional Council has addressed the problems with
the boardwalk and vegetation buildup.

Te Roopu Tiaki (the
management group established through the settlement
legislation to provide the management plan) will consider
other track routes that will allow visitors to continue to
enjoy that part of the Parangarahu Lakes
Area.

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